Third Coast Percussion to Tour STRUM, STRIKE, BEND With Composer & Violinist Jessie Montgomery

Third Coast Percussion will be joined by fellow GRAMMY Award winner Jessie Montgomery as both a featured composer and violinist on their upcoming Strum, Strike, Bend tour including Montgomery's new work for percussion quartet, Lady Justice / Black Justice, The Song. The program also spotlights Montgomery as violin soloist on Lou Harrison's Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra. After an initial performance at the Northwestern University Winter Chamber Music Festival in January, featuring the Chicago-area premiere of Montgomery's work, TCP and Montgomery will tour the program to Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa on Thursday, April 24, 2025; The Krannert Center at the University of Illinois on Saturday, April 26, 2025; the University of Notre Dame on Sunday, April 27, 2025; Oberlin College on Wednesday, April 30, 2025; the Meany Center at University of Washington on Saturday, May 3, 2025, and Stanford University on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

Following the program's premiere at Northwestern University, Chicago Classical Review applauded Montgomery for the "tremendous amount of kinetic energy" infused into Lady Justice / Black Justice, the Song, later praising her performance on Lou Harrison's work for its "richly malleable sound through an ear-grabbing panoply of layered rhythmic complexities, reserving her most expressive playing for the slow movement, an achingly beautiful soliloquy punctuated by sparse percussion... this was a gorgeous performance of a true American masterpiece."

The Strum, Strike, Bend tour represents one of many ambitious projects timed for Third Coast Percussion's 20th anniversary season. The celebration continues with the release of TCP's 20th anniversary album, Standard Stoppages, on April 11, 2025 and Rhythm Fest, a one-day festival in Chicago on June 28, 2025. Standard Stoppages, to be released on Chicago's own Cedille Records, will be a celebration of TCP's past through the creation of new work, featuring pieces composed for the ensemble by the late Zakir Hussain, as well as Jessie Montgomery, Jlin, Tigran Hamasyan, and Musekiwa Chingodza.

Strum, Strike, Bend Tour Dates

Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 7:30pm

Third Coast Percussion and Jessie Montgomery - Strum, Strike, Bend
Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA
Link: www.hancher.uiowa.edu/2024-25/third-coast-percussion

Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 7:30pm

Third Coast Percussion and Jessie Montgomery - Strum, Strike, Bend
The Krannert Center at the University of Illinois | Urbana, IL
Link: www.krannertcenter.com/events/jessie-montgomery-and-third-coast-percussion

Sunday, April 27, 2025 at 4:00pm

Third Coast Percussion and Jessie Montgomery - Strum Strike, Bend
University of Notre Dame DeBartolo Center | Notre Dame, IN
Link: www.performingarts.nd.edu/presenting-series/

Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 7:30pm

Third Coast Percussion and Jessie Montgomery - Strum Strike, Bend
Oberlin College | Oberlin, OH
Link: www.oberlin.edu/events/third-coast-percussion-and-jessie-montgomery

Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 7:30pm

Third Coast Percussion and Jessie Montgomery - Strum Strike, Bend
Meany Hall - Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater | Seattle, WA
Link: www.meanycenter.org/tickets/2025-05/production/third-coast-percussion-and-jessie-montgomery

Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 7:30pm

Third Coast Percussion and Jessie Montgomery - Strum Strike, Bend
Stanford University | Stanford, CA
Link: www.events.stanford.edu/event/third-coast-percussion-with-jessie-montgomery

Program:
Jlin / Philip Glass - Please Be Still
Jessie Montgomery - Lady Justice / Black Justice, The Song
Tigran Hamasyan - Sonata for Percussion
Lou Harrison - Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra
Jessie Montgomery, violin